The misleading word of restriction....

If you can figure out what that thing is that you are craving, go ahead and have a small, measured portion of it.  Even if it's a "bad" food.  But try to keep it small, maybe 3 bites worth.

I've found that if I'm really wanting something and all the other tricks are not working (telling myself I can have it tomorrow, because it's not on my food plan for today, or figuring out the calories in the item and working them off first, etc.).. that if I try to have something else in it's place.. I end up eating the replacement AND the thing I wanted in the first place.

I would've been better off having a small portion of the desired item in the first place.  Less food, less calories, less drama .. LOL.

I've never brought a whole package of skinny cow things home.  Afraid I would have trouble with the stop button.   The CVS store here does sell individuals.   I might let myself have one tomorrow after bootcamp.. if I make it through.

I'm like you if I would have just eaten what I wanted in the first place it would be less drama lol.  Tonight it was pizza . I have been craving that for a week and I ate a slice of it and it hit the spot .

Those skinny cow things its individual little packets. Mine had four little clusters in it.  They are called dreamy clusters and boy it was dreamy lol.  It's crunchy crisps with creamy caramel in the middle yum yum lol.

Caramel is my downfall I love the stuff when its that TOM.   During this time of the month that is one thing I can not keep in house is chocolate.  I can sit there and eat half a bag of them small candy bars .    Any other time of the month I can  have bags of that stuff around and not bother them but TOM watch out lol.   Hubby knew it was getting to be that time and he took the rest of the candy out of the house lol. And I'm not a sweets eater dang periods lol.

You are absolutely right. "Restriction" is a terribly misleading word. Unfortunately the term "restriction" came to us via bariatric medical professionals and Allergan, long before the workings of the adjustable gastric band were fully understood. I sure hope that bariatric surgeons and nutritionists start singing a different tune soon. Not only can eating until you "feel restriction" (i.e., you get emergency signals like PB's, sliming, stuck episodes) make your life miserable, it can lead to complications like band slips and stomach or esophageal dilation.

Thanks so much for sharing this realization and setting a good example for others.

Jean

Head hunger is the monkey on my back too, especially in the form of night munchies.  I'm doing OK tonight, but tomorrow night may be a different story. For a couple of weeks (maybe just 10 days) I was in the perfect spot.  No night munchies, not hungry between meals (no snacks needed) then it just slipped away.  Now I'm just all over the place.  Some days hungrier than others.  But, the journey is a bit different for everyone and if nothing else...interesting. 

Trying to define how the band works or should work is like picking pepper out of fly ****

The band doesn't work, feel, or respond the same way for anyone.  What works for you is not going to work for someone else.

According to the propaganda, one is supposed to feel satisfied on 3-4 ozs. of solid protein and 1/2 cup of low carb veggies, then if room, some starch.  I can count on one hand the times that combination worked for me.

Many times I couldn't get past the 1st bite, others I could eat way more than the recommended amounts.  The feeling of fullness was a horrible congestion in my chest.  I would still be hungry because the stomach below wasn't fooled by the band into thinking IT was full.

I waited and waited and waited some more for that magical sweet spot.  Never got it, empty or filled to the max.   The band just always screwed everything up for me no matter what I did.

Back to the recommended foods.  They are very unpleasant to eat for a good many bandsters.  That is why the band sucks for weight loss for so many.  Ice cream became my favorite food.  Since I got the sleeve, I rarely eat ice cream so it wasn't by choice.  It felt good going down because it soothed my raw throat.

I am glad that your method is working for you, but don't assume that it is all that simple for the majority of folks who have a band.

I am so happy I no longer live in DisneyBand.

I looked at my surgical report yesterday and one of the things it said was that my band slipped again. That's TWO bands and TWO slips equaling THREE surgeries. What exactly is "Minimally Invasive " about that ?

That's not including the years of chronic pain I had to endure while living with my lap band.

DisneyBand is not the hap hap happiest place on earth.

I lived on Ensure like an old person in a nursing home. And even that sometimes made me gag and puke.

It was funny, though, because I told myself that the tradeoff of being thin was worth all the agony and not being able to eat solid foods. I was pretty good at brainwashing myself!  Of course, I had some help from Dr. Dumbhead with that, as well.

Today, I got up, had some coffee and a piece of whole grain toast and an egg and I STILL appreciate being able to eat without gagging, throwing up and horking for hours... and it's been YEARS since I had the band removed. The memory remains!